Yesterday morning was the Lincoln Heights Music School's End of Year Concert and Prize-Giving. My students were to perform in front of an audience, and so throughout this week I have been crossing my fingers and toes that they have practised their little hearts out! Typically we arrived slightly late, but I managed to gather my students around for a quick rehearsal. I went over the programme and everything that would happen, and in what felt like a very short time, it was soon my time to go on stage as a violin student!
My brothers and this other guy in our class had to sit at the back of the stage while the beginner groups performed. Eventually it was out turn and we performed two pieces we've been working on for grade 6 (whether or not we actually sit the exam is another matter!). It went off all right, no major boo-boo's.
As soon as that performance was over, I had to rush out the door to grab my recorders in the adjacent classroom and then rush back to join my students. I then led them onto the stage. My junior students were going to play three pieces. Two of my students were to play My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean and The First Noel, and then my beginner student would join in for the duet Country Dance. One of my advanced students would then perform two students with Aonghas and me afterwards - Bourree by Handel (from The Water Music) and Sonata by Scarlatti.
The junior students did GREAT! I was so proud of them! They were supposed to announce their own pieces but...I won't hold that against them! My beginner student who I was a little worried for had done HEAPS of practice over the week and played the piece nearly flawlessly!
Then was the performance by one of my advanced students. Bourree went well, which was good because it didn't in last week's lesson! After that the Sonata, which was four pages long, went OK till the last two pages where it all fell apart! I think Aonghas lost it which caused my student to lose it, and I kept on going. We luckily managed to all finish on the last note at the same time!
After the performance I gathered my students back in the adjacent classroom to hand out their reports and give them each a small present. Now I was supposed to buy them lollies/sweets but because my mum was sick yesterday I had no chance to go out and buy anything. Instead, my mum grabbed some bag at home that had some kids toys in it. Now I was about to present these (unwrapped) gifts to these kids. When I took them out, I discovered them to be children's craft kits! The kids were literally staring at me in dismay! I managed to convince them to accept them though, and I was about to give one of the gifts to the advanced student when I realised the Warehouse sticker that said $3.99 was still on it, so I started trying to peel it off, when I pricked my finger and started bleeding all over it! I ended up not being able to give her anything as you know how dangerous contact with blood can be!
The students all returned to the hall for prize-giving and soon it was the recorder section. I went up to present the awards, with the first being the Musical Encouragement Awards. I presented a few, but then one of my students was called up for the award when she wasn't meant to receive one! She came up on stage and I had no certificate to give her, and so I had to whisper to her that there was some mix-up and she was getting another award later on.
I then was about to hand out a certificate to one of my students when I realised I had the wrong certificate and had given her certificate to the advanced student, so I had to a swap on stage!
Later on in the prize-giving the girl who was mistakenly called up on stage was this time rightfully called up for the Musical Excellence trophy, and she was pretty happy about it, seeing as it was the very first trophy she had received. Hopefully that erases or puts to the back of her memory the mix-up earlier in the morning!
After the prize-giving I went to the advanced student to talk to her and give her some lollies as I felt bad for her after a bad morning!
We went home after the concert for a brief break before we had to get changed and go to church to prepare for our carolling at Waitakere Hospital. We got there though, and found out that we were the only ones wearing red t-shirts and blue jeans, while everyone else was wearing white t-shirts and blue jeans! We heard the others nearby asking each other why we weren't in white! Some of the church members though said it was OK, and that the musicians could just be in red.
We went to various points in the hospital such as nurses' stations, lounges and other clear spaces to sing a few Christmas carols. Aonghas and I were on recorder while Hamish was on accordion. After each performance the church members would go around to the patients lying in bed to give these little wrapped gifts of...something...as well as a pamphlet advertising Christianity. Yeah...that part was funny! It was also slightly amusing seeing this large group of Asians singing English songs, oh and don't forget those weirdos in red playing the music!
After an hour of carolling, we returned to church for some pizza before we had to have another music rehearsal with the lady who worked us hard! We had the whole group, with the new girl Jenny and Lisa, this other girl, along with the minister's son and Hamish all on violin, while Aonghas and I were sitting in the back. We have to play all sorts of instruments. There was a bit of disagreeing and a case of too many cooks spoil the broth going on, but Aonghas and I just sat back and enjoyed the show ;)
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